Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler, Reda Kateb, Jason Clarke
RATING
9/10
I've never considered myself a person to be sucked into political dramas or agendas, unless they involved some sort of conspiracy theory. Generally, films that touched these subject matters were of little interest to me. Then, in 2009, a female director named Kathryn Bigelow delivered a war film called "The Hurt Locker", and I began to pay attention. Now, I'm glad to say, she single-handedly changed my opinion with this. "Zero Dark Thirty" was the film that gained plenty of buzz around this Oscar season, so I immediately thought this would be nothing more than another politically charged movie with no real impact other than to provide a flashier History Channel update. Fortunately, this rose well above that and became something of a cinematic juggernaut.
"Zero Dark Thirty" tells the true events of the years after September 11, 2001, in which the attacks in New York City took place, all the way up until May 1, 2011, when a raid team infiltrated the hideout of Bin Laden and caught the terrorist. It's lead CIA operative, Maya, orchestrated a subtle yet tactical strategy to confirm Bin Laden's existence, and basically rolled plenty of dices to get to where she is today.
It's a daring tale that needed stellar treatment to be historically accurate and compelling, and Bigelow finds the middle-ground and runs with it. Jessica Chastain plays Maya, and is great. She proves herself to be the headstrong figure despite being a woman amongst a vast space of testostirone-oozing males. And Chastain gives her plenty of layers and depth, especially portraying her determination and lack of a social life. Without spoiling anything, when Maya does begin to feel safe in a social circle with new friends... well, like reality, things always take a turn for the worse. There are other performances to take note of too, especially Kyle Chandler as a CIA head operative who makes some harsh calls and basically is a dick to everyone. He does it quite naturally too.
The film is a constant build-up of tension and anxiety, which Bigelow pulls off with pin-point precision. To be fair, I wasn't keen on "The Hurt Locker" specifically because it's pacing felt very off at times, but with this, there's not a single moment where you don't feel like there are enormous stakes and risks. It's a tightrope juggling act that required delicate hands, and Bigelow had them, including a firm grasp on its heart-stopping action very few directors today are capable of executing. The magnum opus of this film's running time occurs within the last thirty minutes of the film, when all shots are called and it becomes a ride unlike anything you've ever seen before. The raid scene is possibly the most nail-biting and mind-numbingly thrilling sequence I've seen put on celluloid. It's pacing is immaculate, and the cinematography coupled with the directing is nothing short of a stroke of cinematic masterwork. What surprised me the most is how fragile it treated its source, yet provided the same visceral and emotional whiplash of a 2-hour war epic all within half an hour. The tactics of the direction is just as delicate and accurate as the tactics of the raid squad. I can't give enough praise to how amazing it was, and thanks to the entire film acting as a basis for its build-up, it succeeds on every film level. Much like the classic samurai films of the last century.
If I could only point out on gripe I had, it had to do with a few dull moments. Not that they were bad, but they focused on other aspects when you really wanted to get more invested in Jessica Chastain and her scenes. I can tell they were essential, but they felt like they pulled away from the film's almost perfected elevation of anxiety, and gave us room to breathe. Maybe we didn't need room to breathe, I would've loved to be suffocated if it meant delivering a more powerful emotional impact. And it did anyway, but don't expect people to take an immediate liking to the film either. There's plenty of touchy subject matters that conspiracy theorists would be happy to tear apart limb from limb.
"Zero Dark Thirty" is an emotionally resonant, historically delicate but viscerally powerful thrill ride from start to end. It strikes every nerve at the exact moment which grasps you and might never let go. While its journey towards salvation is a road that is often difficult to watch but absolutely necessary, its climax is what hits the nail on the coffin and elevates the film into almost masterpiece status. Bigelow's energetic and captivating take on Bin Laden's takedown is a winner.
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